True, it’s not quite on a par with the Monterey Historics or Woodwood Cruise, but Japan’s Tokyo New Meeting in Tokyo in late January is still a fascinating open-air gathering of classics.

If Nissan Skylines, Honda N360s, Mazda Cosmo Sports, Toyota 2000 GTs et al are your bag, mixed in with MGs, Triumphs and some full boat Detroit classics, then the New Year Meeting (which also packs a great autojumble) is absolutely the place to be.

One car that also caught our eye this year was a fabulous longtail Porsche 917 Le Mans version in full Martini colors. Except this wasn’t a real Porsche at all, but an amazingly authentic looking replica put together by a Japanese enthusiast.

The attention to detail is amazing. Your jaw drops even more when you learn that underneath the engine is not a race bred Teutonic flat-12 but a tiny 660 cc three cylinder turbo from the Mitsubishi i minicar! What will they say in Weissach?